Supporting apparatus for bucket elevator



Feb. 17, 1959l H, OIDTMAN 2,873,939

SUPPORTING APPARATUS FOR BUCKET ELEVATOR Filed NOV. '10, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 17, 1959 E, H, O1DTMAN 2,873,939

SUPPORTING APPARATUS FOR BUCKET ELEVATOR /Nn/En/TOR: EL TON H. O/DTMHNI @www ATTORNEYS SUPPORTING APPARATUS FOR BUCKET ELEVATOR Elston H. Gidtman, St. Louis, Mo. Application November 10, 1954, Serial No. 467,966

Claims. (Cl.248351) This invention relates to improvements in elevators, `and in particular is concerned with a bucket elevator operating upon a continuous chain guided by a boom. The boom is provided with a ground support. through which it is furnished with power and a top support whereby it may be spaced from a roof cornice and the like to allow the delivery of the buckets on the elevator to a point adjacent thereto. By means of this invention, there has been provided a bucket elevator which has the multi-featuredr advantages of portability in separate units, flexibility in length, ease in set-up and adjustment, and ruggedness in construction. The main elements of the bucket elevator and its supporting apparatus include a base for a motor and a trunnion bearing attached to the -base for supporting the boom, a trunnion boom of variable length adapted to be easily inserted within the trunnion bearing, adjustable Patented Feb. 17, 1959 lice D a cornice of a roof and the like in a preselected position with respect to said cornice.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a bracket means for the supporting of the top of a boom elevator through a lock and pin device in the bracket upon which the boom rests, and in which `the boom can be released for withdrawal by a simple removal of the pin adjusting means.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an 0 elevator of the boom type having a base for supporting a boom and a motor, a boom of adjustable length which may be positioned upon the base without the requirement of anyV adjusting means, eccentric adjustment means for an endless chain on the boom, and supporting means permittingtbe preselected support'of a'boom with respect to a roof cornice, and the like, in which all of these components may` be assembled from'the disassembled rela tionship in a minimum of time and labor by` unskilled workmen.'v v

Further objects of this invention -will appear in the detailed description which follows and will be further apparent to those skilled in the art.

For the purpose of description and example, there is illustrated in the drawings a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it is to be understood that this illustration is for the purpose of example only, and that the invention is not limited thereto.

means on the boom for taking up slack on the conveyor chain, and an adjustable boom support for securing the top of the boom in a desired position on the roof cornice of a building, and the like.

Through the various features of this invention, there has been provided a bucket elevator apparatus which can be taken from disassembly and assembled -by contractors,

workmen and the like, in a minimum of time without 'any requirement of special know-how so that unskilled workmen can assemble the apparatus. When broken down, the bucket elevator apparatus can be stored in a compact area, and through this invention a very great exibility and adaptability in operation have been made possible.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a bucket elevator apparatus having a boom and a base support and boom securing means at the top portion f thereof, which permit easy assembly of these components and exi-bility of positioning the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide an elevator of the boom type in which the boom is provided with driving means which can be secured upon a base support without the requirement of any attachments or adjustments for positioning.

A further object of this invention is to provide a'base support for an elevator of the boom type having means for mounting a motor thereon in an adjustable manner to i elevator ofY the boom type anda base support therefor with driving means on the boom, which can be connected to a prime moving device on the base in such manner that the base receives the base of the boom in any desired positionof rotationwithout the requirement of adjustments. l 1 f Yet a furtherY object of this invention is to provide a 'support for the top .of aboom elevator -by y attachment to In the drawings:

' Figure l is a view in side elevation of the bucket ele-A vator supported against avroof cornice shown in dotted lines; f l

Figure 2 is a'view in fop elevation of the boom supporting mechanism'taken on the line 2-2 o f Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in front elevationof the base support for the bottom portion ofthe boom, showing, in addition, the motor mount; l Figure 4 isa top plan view of the lbase support and motor mount of Figure 3;' Y a j Figure 5 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the top portion of the boom showing' the eccentric means for adjusting the top. sprocketwheel for the endless chain;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but taken in front elevation; and Y Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 1, showing `the sectional construction of the boom. As shown in Figure l, thebucket'elevator generally indicated at 10 includes as its main components av base support'll, a boom 12,` and a boom support 13 secured to a roof cornice 14 shown in dotted lines. All of these parts are separable from one another, in a variable Aand expeditious manner Vto make the bucket elevator fully portable and adapted to be set up in a'minimum of time and labor, as will be fully described below.

, ,The base support 11,- as shown in'Figure l, and more particularly in Figures '3 and 4, includes a base frame 20, a trunnion support 21, and a motor support 22. The motor support for supportingt-he motor 29, as shown in dotted lines in Figure l, includes a latitudinal brace 23 connected to the base frame and two partial longitudinal braces 24 and 25. ,VA motor base plate 26, to which the motor is adapted to.be secured by conventional bolting, is secured to the base frame by a pivotal arrangement to allow for adjustment of a pulley belt to the bucket elevator. This arrangement includes two sleeves 27 and 28 depending from the bottom of the base plate 26, and which are in alignment with two sleeves 30 and 31 which are fastened to the base frame. A pin 32 extends therethrough, as more particularly shown in Figures 3 andr 4, to provide for pivotal arrangement of 'the motor base plate v26. lTwo adjusting nuts 33 and 34 are provided in the brace 23 and therbase frame 20 upon which the bottom of the base plate 26 can rest in adjustable position, depending upon adjustment of these nuts. A thumbscrew 3S ts within a slot 36 of the base plate for securing the same against vibration. l

The trunnion support 21 includes two vertically extending triangular bases 40 and 41, which are spaced from one another, as shown in Figure 3. These supports are provided at their top with trunnion bearings 42 and 43, which flare outwardly at their tops so as to receive easily the trunnions on the bucket elevator boom which will be described.

The boom of the bucket elevator, as more particularly shown in Figures 1 and 7, is composed of two sections 50 and 51. It is, however, obvious that where the boom is desired to be extended inl length an intermediate section or sections of the same'construction as `these boom Vsecf tions can be provided Where desired. The boom sections are constructed of four pieces of tubular steel 52, 5354 and 55. Resting on the top of the tubular steel members 52 and 55 are wear plates 56 and 57 which extend along the length of the boom `and protect the boom against damage by the buckets of the bucket elevator. A cross brace 58 connecting all of the tubular members 52 through 55 is provided` for strength and rigidity,` and similarly longitudinal truss members 59 are provided along the length of the boom to insure structural strength.

The boom sections 50 and. 51 are joined together at their ends along which the Figure 7 has been taken on line 7-7. Two side plates 62 and 63 have been provided which are adapted to be bolted together, asrshown, to provide for this connection. An additional bottom plate 64 is provided with the side plates to furnishfa secure arrangement.

The lower boom section 50 is provided at its lower end with two horizontally extending trunnion journals 70 and 71 through which a sprocket axle .72 is fitted. These journals 70 and 71 are of somewhat enlarged diameter at their ends 73 and 74, respectively, as shown in Figure 2, to accommodate support webs 75 and 76 for securing the same to the bottom of the boom section 50. Further, these end journal sections 73 and 74 have stop pins Y78 and v-79 to prevent the trunnion journals from moving axially with respect to the trunnion supports 42 and 43,

in which the trunnion journals are fitted in a trunnion arrangement.

The axle 72 is supplied with a pulley wheel 81, as shown in Figure 3, which is adapted to be provided with a pulley belt 82 shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 for connection to a motor 29. Also secured to the axle 72 is a sprocket wheel 83 which receives a sprocket chain 84.`

As shown in this invention, the sprocket chain 84 is provided with a plurality of buckets 85, but it is vto be understood that various types of hoisting elements could be used. The sprocket chain 84, as shown in Figure 1, is secured and positioned at the top end of the hoom'section 51 by a top sprocket wheel 86. This sprocket wheel is adjustable to a limited degree along the axis of the boom to provide for take-up of slack in theV sprocket chain.

The adjustment means of the top sprocket wheel 86 is shown generally in'Figure l and more particularly in Figures 5 and 6. The sprocket wheel is secured to an axle 90 journaled in two pillow blocks 91 and 92. These pillow blocks are adapted to move vertically on tracks 93 and 94, as shown in Figure 5. These tracks for both pillow blocks 91 and 92 are similar in all respects, but are, of course, reversely positioned. The tracks 93 and 94 are composed of two members 9S and 96 which are secured to the tubular members 55 and 54, respectively, and have a groove in the corner constituting the tracks 93 and 94 along which the edges of the pillow block ride.

Both pillow blocks 91 and 92 are provided with dependingV shafts 101 and 102 which are connected to a contact plate 103. The contact plate 103 is fastened to a depending bracket 104'which, in turn, is secured to a spring 105. The spring 105 is attached at its opposite end to a cross brace 106 on the upper boom section 51.

The control mechanism for the adjustment of the pillow blocks aud the sprocket wheel center around au eccentric cam 110, which is composed of two cam plates 111 and 112 against which contact plate 103 bears. Both of these cam plates are fixed to a shaft 113 which is journaled within cross pieces 114 and 115 attached to the boom section. A handle 116 extends at right angles to the shaft in order to provide for proper rotation.

The boom support 13, generally indicated in Figure l and more particularly shown in Figure 2, includes a tubular frame having side arms 120 and 121. These side arms are generally symmetrical andare connected by a cross brace 122. Depending from these arms are legs to which are attached, at the bottom, support legs 123. Each of the support legs is provided with a slidable clamp 124 having a plurality of wedge washer plates 125 therein through which the legs 1723 pass. At the ends of the legs 123 there `is a screw clamp 126 having a handle 127.

The tubular frame of the support 13 is provided at its front -with a section 130 and another section 132. This latter section is connected by a union 133 to a length of tubing 134. Both the open ends of the tubing 134 and the section 130 are provided with holes to receive truunion members 135 and 136 of the boom support element 137. The boom support element 137 has a main bottom section 138 and two legs 140 and 141. l Both of these legs are provided with holes to receive a pin 142 having a handle 143. A stop member 144 is secured to the section 130 in alignment with the locked position of the pin to prevent its accidental dislodgment.

Assembly and use The bucket elevator apparatus of this invention is first assembled by placing the base support 11 in a selected position, after which the motor 29 may be secured to the base plate 22. Then the base section of the boom may be placed in the trunnion support by inserting the trunnion journals and 71 within the trunnion bearings so that the stops 78 and 79 will prevent it from sliding Aout, of position. After this has been etected, the upper boom section 51 may be secured to the lower boom section 50 with these sections extending on the ground by bolting together' their ends. Since the boom can rotate within the trunnion, this can be done by having the boom extending counterclockwise and to the left along the ground with respect to the position shown in Figure l.

After this has been elected, the endless chain 84 can be connected to the sprocket wheels and the pillow blocks are roughly adjusted by selecting the proper chain length and connecting them. Subsequently, the proper adjustl ment and take-up of slack is effected by turning the y of said cam plates.

handle 116 of the eccentric shaft 113. This forces the cam plates 111 and 112 toward or away from the contact plate 103 of the pillow blocks against the biasing action of the spring depending on the rotational position This simple rotary operation of the eccentric permits a very easy adjustment of the pillow blocks and the upper sprocket wheel 86 to the desired position.y Alternatively, this adjustment can be effected after the boom has been erected, as will be clearly understood. After the boom has been assembled, it may be easily hoisted by means of the trunnion against the support 13 by attaching a hoisting rope to the upper end of the boom and pulling it up to the roof.

The boom support 13 is preliminarily secured to the roof cornice 14 by first of all roughly positioning the clamp 124, which in the free position can be pushed backward and forward on the lower legs 123 by properly tilting the Wedge plates 125, as is well understood in this art. This effects the rough adjustment and the final clamping operation of the clamp 126 is effected by tightening of the handle 127.' n l yAfter these steps have been accomplished, the boom is positioned against the support element 137 so that the lower tubular sections 53 and'54 bear against the bottom section 138. 1t should be noted that the section 134 can be assembled or withdrawn through the use of the union 133. The support element 137 can easily be inserted between the bottom of the boom and the endless chain 84 where the chain is already assembled on the boom when it is erected.

After the boom has been positioned so that its bottom yrests .against the section 138 of the support element, the locking pin 142 can be inserted within the holes of the leg sections 140 and 141 of the support element. This pin prevents removal of the boom from the boom support. After this insertion has been etfected, the handle 143 is allowed to drop to a natural position where it cannot be dislodged or removed from the support element. The handle in this natural position is prevented from being removed by the stop member 144, and a physical rotation for removal is then required.

Once the boom has been erected and positioned,the motor may be finally adjusted so that the pulley belt 82 running between the bottom sprocket pulley wheel 81 and the pulley wheel of the motor is properly tensioned. Since the motor through its pivotable base plate can pivot about the pin 32, the motor can be raised or lowered to loosen or tighten the pulley belt. This raising and lowering and adjustment of the motor` base plate is effected by raising or lowering of the adjustment nuts 33 and 34. When the desired position has been etected, the tightening nut 35 is then secured to prevent the move# ment of the base plate and to provide a rm base which will resist the jars and vibrations encountered in the operation.

Once assembled, the elevator of this invention can be used either with the buckets, as shown, or other types of lifting elements to transport articles from the ground up to the roof of a building or any structure in the process of being erected, and the like. It is a signal feature of this invention that the boom may be removed from the boom support 13 in a minimum of time to permit the disassembly of the apparatus by rotating the pin 143 and withdrawing it. Then the section 134 is removed through the loosening of the union and the support element 137 may then be removed. Thus, where it is desired to change the height of a boom from, say, a second story level to a third story level, this procedure can be accomplished and the boom can be moved so that it rotates to the left counterclockwise on its trunnion and is placed in position on the ground. An intermediate section or sections of desired length can then be inserted between the bottom boom section 50 and the top boom section 51.

Further, the adjustment of the sprocket chain tensioning through the movement of the top sprocket wheel 86 within its pillow blocks can be performed either on the ground by the proper rotation of the eccentric 110, or this may be accomplished after the boom has been elevated and properly positioned. This adjustment is efected, as previously mentioned, by rotating the cam plates through the handle connected to the shaft extending through said plates. v Various changes and modifications may be made in this invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such obvious changes and modifications are within the teaching of this invention, and it is to be understood that the scope thereof is not limited to the exact construction as shown.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for supporting a boom in spaced relation from an elevated wall including a frame having wall clamping means, a boom rest providing a rest support for the boom when positioned thereagainst, said boom rest being connected to said frame in oifset relation by a 1Iunnion arrangement, and means for removing said boom rest from said frame including a union connected to a bearing for said boom rest,

2. Apparatus for supporting a boom in spaced relation from an elevated Wall including 4a frame having wall clamping means, a boom rest providing a rest support for the boom when positioned thereagainst, said vboom rest being connected to said frame in offset relation by a trunnion arrangement, and locking means cooperating -with said boom rest to prevent relative movement between said boom and the support, said locking means including an element adapted to confine a portion of the boom between the rest support and said element.

3. Apparatus for supporting a boom in spaced relation from an elevated wall including a frame having wall clamping means, a boom rest providing a rest support for the boom when positioned thereagainst, said boom rest being connected to said frame in offset relation by a trunnion arrangement, and locking means cooperating with said boom rest to prevent relative movement befrom an elevated wall including a frame having a boom rest providing a rest support for the boom when positioned thereagainst, said boom rest being connected to said frame by a trunnion arrangement, said boom rest having a base against which the boom is adapted to rest, and opposed side members within which the boom may lit, said side members being connected at one end to the base and being further connected in spatial relation from the base to a shaft forming a part of said trunnion.

5. Apparatus for supporting a boom in spaced relation from an elevated wall including a frame having a boom rest providing a rest support for the boom when positioned thereagainst, said boom rest being connected to said frame in offset relation by a trunnion arrangement, said boonrrest having a base against which the boom is adapted to rest, opposed side members within which the boom may fit, and locking means lcooperating with said boom rest to prevent relative movement between said boom and the support, said locking means including a piny inserted into said side members in spaced relation to said base for the confinement of longitudinal elements of said boom therebetween, said piu being withdrawable from a stop element by a combined rotary and axial movement;

6. Apparatus for supporting a boom in spaced relation from an elevated wall including a frame having wall clamping means, said frame having brace meansextending above said wall clamping means, legs on said frame extending from said brace means above and to one side of said Wall clamping means, a boom rest releasably fastened to the free ends of said legs, said boom rest having trunnion means that is releasably connected to said legs, and further having a base offset from said trunnion means against which the boom is adapted to rest and s opposed side members connected at one end to the base and being further connected to a shaft forming part of said trunnion means in spatial relation from said base within which the boom may t.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,358,024 Scranton Nov. 9, 1920 A1,642,679 Hula Sept. 20, 1927 1,890,540 Hawkins Dec. 13, 1932 2,194,648 Ferrini' Mar. 26, 1940 2,447,228 Boston Aug. 17, 1948 2,527,178 Elsaesser Oct. 24, 1950 2,561,225 Powell July 17, 1951 2,605,074 Bucsk et al July 29, 1952 2,644,570 Russell July 7, 1953 2,685,957 Schlesinger Aug. 10, 1954 

